There are numerous disparate types of fastener in use today. One particularly successful fastener is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,556 in the name of Fildan Accessories Corporation and having the same inventor(s) as the present application. U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,556 describes a front closure for a fastener that is slim, lightweight, practically invisible from the outside of the garment, and that may be incorporated into a brassiere with relative ease. Although very successful and effective, there are improvements that could be made to such a fastener.
For example, although the fastener described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,556 is ideally suited as a front closure for a brassiere, it is not particularly suited to many other closure applications, such as a strap fastener for a bra, bikini, or top with interchangeable straps. This is due to the fact that the tensile stress rating of the known fastener is typically much less than 10 kgs and is insufficient for the other purposes. Accordingly, if interchangeable straps are to be provided, a second, different type of fastener must also be used in the garment. This is inconvenient and inefficient from a manufacturing standpoint and may result in an increase in the manufacturing cost of the garment. This could be avoided if the tensile stress rating of the fastener could be increased to a level suitable for use with interchangeable straps as well as front fasteners.
Furthermore, inadvertent release of a fastener can be a source of inconvenience and embarrassment. Irrespective of the benefits of opening up new markets and simplifying manufacturing by increasing the tensile stress rating of the fastener, it is also advantageous to increase the tensile stress rating in any event as it will decrease the likelihood of the fastener becoming inadvertently undone.
Other fasteners of similar construction have been disclosed in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,496 in the name of Fildan, a co-inventor of the present application, discloses a hidden front closure brassiere. The closure is relatively flat and may be sewn into the fabric of the brassiere. UK Pat. No. GB1,125,255 in the name of Brero & Co, discloses a fastener with a hammerhead construction that when closed, is substantially flat. Japanese Patent App. Pub. No. J2004218119 in the name of Gunze KK, discloses a front fastener for a brassiere that claims to be easier to handle that existing offerings. U.S. Pat. No. 2,346,887 in the name of Winkler discloses an alternative construction of fastener for jewelry such as necklaces and bracelets. The fastener is relatively flat when in a closed configuration.
However, none of these fasteners adequately overcome the problems outlined above. More specifically, the fasteners disclosed are not particularly suited to many other closure applications, such as a strap fastener for a bra, bikini, or top with interchangeable straps. This is due to the fact that the tensile stress rating of these fasteners is believed to be typically much less than 10 kgs, which is unsuitable for many applications.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fastener that overcomes at least some of the above-identified problems and that provides a useful choice to the consumer.